HELP PLEASE With Terms and conditions of a Label Contract

[pitoga]

Greetings.

I need your help here, for i'm new in this.

So, this band I've been producing and recording has been offered a contract by Island Records. And they wan't the band to tell them their terms and conditions to proceed with the contract.

What should they put in?

(sorry for my English)

 

[AntonioPetrole]

I would say the best bet is to hire a lawyer to figure that out

 

[egan.]

Seriously dude? Tell them to get a lawyer.
The only other comment I'll make is that if they've "been offered a contract" then there are are already "terms" on the contract and the artists' representation can attempt to negotiate changes.
But seriously. Hire a lawyer.

 

[Skinny Viking]

^ yup

What they've probably been offered is more like a statement of intent ... Essentially the label's starting point in a possible contractual negotiation. From the sound of it, none of you are in any way knowledgeable enough to take this on without professional help. That's not an insult, just a fact and if they're looking at taking the next step into professional status the professional thing to do would be to hire an entertainment lawyer or at the very least a professional manager. Doing either will automatically give the band a leg up

 

[Trevoire520]

I personally can't believe how often I see people asking for help on the internet when it comes to things like this! GET A LAWYER FFS! Don't trust some twats on the internet to give you advice on something like this!

 

[Boerboel666]

Most reputable music lawyers will meet potential clients for an introduction for free if they are having interest shown by a label . It's also worth asking the label to pick up the tab for the lawyer as these days you cant just hood wink people into signing shit as it would never stand up in court .

 

[pitoga]

Thanks for the answers, definitely i told them too to get a lawyer. But anyways wanted to know from your experience. If anything more shows up i'll inform. For now they are investigating if it's actually "real" cause there are some cases were they tell you to sign a contract and ask money, and never ever appear again.

 

[Skinny Viking]

Another thing you could mention to them to keep them busy in the meantime is to have them try and reach out to members of other bands that are signed to the label ... Just to pick their brains a little about their feelings/ experiences/ dealings with the label. I doubt anyone will disclose the details if what kind of final terms were listed in their own contracts but they might be able to get some general vibes. I did this when we were being courted by a certain label ... There was a pretty funky publishing deal they were trying to include in the actual contract so I thought I'd ask if others were given similar terms. You'd be surprised how forthcoming a few members of several bands were about the details of their deals. It at least gave us a little something extra to think about